Latest news with #underdog
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Karate Kid: Legends review
There's a lot riding on Li Fong, warrior protagonist of the Karate Kid: Legends. The Beijing émigré (played by Disney mainstay Ben Wong) is barely settled into his new Manhattan surrounds when he finds himself schooling Victor, a West Side pizzaiolo (Joshua Jackson), in the ways of kung fu to help him win a boxing purse and clear his debt with unfriendly neighborhood loan shark (Tim Rozon). But when Victor is cheated out of a certain win by an illegal knockout blow, Fong is reminded of the tragic death of his kung-fu idol older brother, and his frozen reaction in the moment puts him at odds with Victor's daughter Mia, an emerging love interest (Sadie Stanley), and his own mother (Ming-Na Wen), who explicitly forbade him from fighting. Besides acing the SAT and fitting into a new high school, Fong is further charged with reinvigorating a cultural institution attempting its first feature film reboot in 15 years. Inferior franchises have buckled under lesser pressure. All of it had the makings of a disaster recipe for director Jonathan Entwistle. But Rob Lieber's script embroiders those plot points on to a classic underdog story that feels even more resonant at a time when young people appear to be more lonely and powerless than ever. Sure, longtime Karate Kid watchers will see many of Legends' punches coming, but there's vastly more enjoyment to be taken from watching the film with young viewers who are either coming into the Karate Kid world fresh or from Netflix's Cobra Kai TV series spinoff. (Kids ruled my screening of the film in Atlanta, where many of the exterior and street scenes in Legends were shot.) To set up the passing of the bandana, the film opens with a scene between Daniel-san and Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid Part II. In it, Miyagi explains the connection between his brand of karate and a style of kung fu practiced in China – 'two branches of the same tree', as it were. That's our reintroduction to Fong's uncle, Mr Han (Jackie Chan) – the kung-fu master (and carryover from the 2010 Karate Kid sequel) who keeps Fong fighting over his mother's objections. He's the one who pushes Fong to enter a lucrative New York martial arts tournament after he gets in over his head, and the one who flies out to Los Angeles to recruit Master Daniel (played by a still-fresh-faced Ralph Macchio) to prepare Fong for the make-or-break event. It all makes for a winsome 94 minutes that satisfies young audiences' taste for constant action and plays to adult viewers' sense of nostalgia and makes them both laugh at the same jokes. (Fong picks up the nickname 'Stuffed Crust' after committing the worst New York pizzeria ordering faux pas imaginable.) Viewers of a certain generation will have a hard time not feeling old when they see Jackson (AKA Pacey of Dawson's Creek) as a grizzled girl dad, or Wen (AKA Street Fighter's Chun-Li) as a helicopter mom. (Maybe she'll get some fight scenes in the sequel?) Wyatt Oleff – the Entwistle holdover who plays Fong's tutor turned wingman, Alan – was delightful too in his moments of repartee with Fong, who initially recoils from this mother-enforced relationship. (In my screening, Alan got the night's biggest laugh off the bat when he asks Fong, who sports a shiner when they first meet, if his mom 'did that to your eye'.) But for Karate Kid fans of this generation, the biggest payoff is likely to come when the callback to Cobra Kai is finally revealed. For my money, though, the far bigger surprise was the chemistry between Chan and Macchio. It really saves what could've been a too-many-cooks situation. (Surely there's a Zen koan about the vanity of the student with two masters … ) Chan in particular remains the all-time best at getting laughs through martial artistry, and there's an apartment break-in scene between him and Fong that wouldn't look out of place in Rush Hour or another of Chan's stuntwork ballets. Still: that's not to say Legends is a perfect reboot. The grownups in the room who were too young to appreciate character development in the 80s will probably scoff at Legends' thinly sketched antagonists, Aramis Knight's Conor not least. Critical fight sequences in the film unfold like scenes from Mortal Kombat-style fighter games, with only the energy meter missing from the framing. The film also could have done without one notably cringe product placement nod, for which Oleff does the honors. But other than those faint missteps, Legends sweeps the leg. It's warm, it's breezy – it's a burst of summery family fun that is sure to inspire long looks back at the old movies and Cobra Kai episodes while sparking renewed interest in martial arts apprenticeship. Anyone would get a kick out of it. Karate Kid: Legends is out in US and UK cinemas on 30 May
CNA
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNA
Former top-10 player Norrie enjoys fun, low expectations from low ranking
PARIS :Cameron Norrie was once the world number eight, guaranteed a spot in the main draw of every major tournament, but these days the Briton enjoys his low-ranking underdog status that comes with a lot of fun and lower expectations, he said on Tuesday. The 29-year-old, who is 81st in the world, battled past 11th seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets to reach the French Open second round. "I think it's part of the game," said Norrie when asked about how he handles his low ranking. "For me, you have to accept where you are. For me, I had to go play qualies last week in Geneva. I was so pumped to play, so pumped to prove myself again." Norrie has won five ATP Tour singles titles in his career and was a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2022. But he said he now enjoyed being the underdog again. "It's actually quite fun to have that opportunity now to go," said Norrie, who had to deal with several injuries in 2024. "You're the underdog again, finally. "You can go and play. Anyone you play, you're most likely the underdog. You can go play, no expectations. It's so much fun. It's a completely different perspective."
Reuters
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Former top-10 player Norrie enjoys fun, low expectations from low ranking
PARIS, May 27 (Reuters) - Cameron Norrie was once the world number eight, guaranteed a spot in the main draw of every major tournament, but these days the Briton enjoys his low-ranking underdog status that comes with a lot of fun and lower expectations, he said on Tuesday. The 29-year-old, who is 81st in the world, battled past 11th seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets to reach the French Open second round. "I think it's part of the game," said Norrie when asked about how he handles his low ranking. "For me, you have to accept where you are. For me, I had to go play qualies last week in Geneva. I was so pumped to play, so pumped to prove myself again." Norrie has won five ATP Tour singles titles in his career and was a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2022. But he said he now enjoyed being the underdog again. "It's actually quite fun to have that opportunity now to go," said Norrie, who had to deal with several injuries in 2024. "You're the underdog again, finally. "You can go and play. Anyone you play, you're most likely the underdog. You can go play, no expectations. It's so much fun. It's a completely different perspective." Norrie next faces Federico Gomez of Argentina in round two
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
The season of the underdog
It has been a year of the underdog - and also, in a couple of cases, the the four English men's teams to win major trophies this season - with Chelsea yet to play in the Uefa Conference League final - three of them ended long waits for the Women's Champions League, Arsenal shocked Barcelona to lift the trophy while in Scotland Aberdeen stunned Celtic in the Scottish Cup there have been surprising winners elsewhere in Europe Sport has a look. Arsenal (Women's Champions League) Stina Blackstenius scored the winner as Arsenal stunned European giants Barcelona to win their first Women's Champions League title in 18 Gunners were classed as huge underdogs before the match, with Barcelona having won three of the past four European had two-time Ballon d'Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas in their line-up, and have dominated club football in recent finished 12 points behind Womens Super League champions Chelsea this season, but the Blues were thrashed by Barcelona 8-2 in the Champions League semi-finals. Newcastle (Carabao Cup) Most recent trophy won: 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs CupNewcastle, who will be playing Champions League football for the second time in three years next season, couldn't exactly be classed as an underdog - but they have most certainly been an fully deserved 2-1 Wembley win over Liverpool to lift the Carabao Cup on 16 March ended a 56-year wait for a who do not count the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup as major silverware say the trophy drought had been 70 years - going back to the Magpies' 1955 FA Cup Burn and Alexander Isak were the Magpies heroes this Manchester City and Manchester United had won all the League Cups since 2015. Crystal Palace (FA Cup) Most recent trophy won: n/aCrystal Palace went one better than Newcastle when they stunned Manchester City 1-0 to win the FA Cup final on 17 Eze scored the only goal, while Dean Henderson saved an Omar Marmoush was the first major trophy Palace had ever won. No longer do Palace fans need to try to count the 1991 Zenith Data Systems Cup, a competition that was launched when English teams were banned from Europe and which ran for seven also ensures them a European place - in the Europa League - for the first time in their was just the fourth time since 1995 that a team outside the so-called big six won the FA Cup. Tottenham (Europa League) Most recent trophy won: 2008 League CupLike Newcastle, Tottenham are another underachieving team who have flirted with major honours in recent years without quite being able to get over the Spurs - the club with the ninth-highest turnover in the world, external - ended their 17-year wait for a trophy when they beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League in Bilbao, with Brennan Johnson's goal sure to go down in also meant Ange Postecoglou remarkably made good on his early season - and much-ridiculed - declaration that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a was only their second trophy since the turn of the Millennium and Spurs' first in Europe since the 1984 Uefa it means that their worst season domestically since 1977-78 (when they were in the second tier) ends with a place in the Champions League, despite finishing the Premier League season in 17th, only one place above the relegation zone. Aberdeen (Scottish Cup) Most recent trophy won: 2014 Scottish League CupAberdeen earned a sensational first Scottish Cup victory in 35 years when they beat Scottish champions Celtic on shock win ended Celtic's hopes of a domestic treble and ended Aberdeen's run of four straight defeats against them this season. They also had no win against Celtic in their last 30 from the Dons' League Cup success in 2014, Aberdeen's previous major trophy came back in 1996. Sunderland (Championship play-off winners) Sunderland will be playing in the Premier League next season after beating Sheffield United 2-1 in the Championship play-off final at Black Cats finished 14 points behind Chris Wilder's Blades in the regular campaign and were outplayed in a one-sided first two goals in the last 15 minutes turned the Wembley final on its head, as Regis le Bris' underdogs were left celebrating. Bologna (Coppa Italia) Most recent trophy won: 1974 Coppa ItaliaBologna secured their first trophy in 51 years when they edged out AC Milan 1-0 to win the Coppa Ndoye scored the only goal in Rome's Stadio Olimpico in a team captained by Scotland midfielder Lewis Inter Milan, Napoli and Lazio had won every Italian Cup between them since 2008. Stuttgart (German Cup) Most recent trophy won: 2007 BundesligaStuttgart may have been very heavy favourites to win the German Cup, but it still means a big deal to them having ended an 18-year trophy opponents in Saturday's final were third-tier Arminia was their first trophy since the 2006-07 Bundesliga, and their first German Cup since 1997. Dungannon Swifts (Irish Cup) Most recent trophy won: 2018 Northern Ireland League CupDungannon Swifts' wait for a trophy was only seven years - but their Irish Cup success over Cliftonville, which they won on penalties, was only the second trophy in their 76-year ensured the Tyrone side only their third season in European football. Go Ahead Eagles (KNVB Cup) Most recent trophy won: 1933 Dutch championsGo Ahead Eagles had a remarkable 92-year wait in between trophies. Their last silverware was the Dutch title in 1933, back in amateur football days before a proper national league. The regional champions entered a play-off system, which Go Ahead - which was their full name then - that long wait ended in the Dutch Cup final this season with Go Ahead beating AZ Alkmaar on penalties - after scoring an injury-time equaliser at the end of the 90 minutes.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Could Aberdeen success mark mentality shift in Scottish football?
I wrote Aberdeen off at Hampden Park on Saturday. Everyone did. But this was history, the year of the when no-one else really did, the squad believed they would lift the Scottish Cup and that's the key to any success - to the Pittodrie players post-match, they had that confidence despite their previous, and even recent, results against Celtic, which were 5-1, 5-1, 1-0 and 6-0 in their last four was a statement win and it really feels like a historic day, not just for Aberdeen, but the rest of Scottish see a team outside the big two do this is an amazing Shaun Maloney's column in full here.
